2002 Chevy Silverado - The Best Of Both Worlds

Empire Diesel's 12-second, Sled-pulling Duramax

Despite performing well in its first eighth-mile runs, Empire's double-duty Duramax was eventually knocked out by the strong-running Super Duty from Swamp's Diesel.

Despite performing well in its first eighth-mile runs, Empire's double-duty Duramax was ev

All that being said, you would never guess what kind of shape Chad's truck was in less than three days before we ran into him at Scheid's Diesel Extravaganza. Any ideas? Try just a cab, frame, and four tires. That's right, the motor was dropped in the night before the event and, to make matters worse, the water pump failed as they were loading it on the trailer. That next morning, he slapped on a new water pump and hauled the un-tested Duramax five hours south to compete in the Super Bowl of sled pulling, where he finished a respectable 13th out of 21 trucks in the 3.0 class.

Not a lot of pulling trucks were around for the Outlaw races at Scheid's that Sunday, and the ones that were, weren't on the drag strip running 7.80s in the eighth-mile. What's more is that this was the truck's first trip down a drag strip too. The stock 3.73 axle gearing works well in both sled pulling and drag racing. So far, the gearing is low enough to get a sled moving, but high enough to let the truck stay strong up top while blasting down the strip. And, with a trap speed of 93.8 mph in the eighth-mile, Chad thinks the truck could break into the 11s in the quarter with good traction. With an empty weight of 6,700 pounds, we'd say it's definitely possible.

We like the run-what-you-brung attitude Chad displayed at Scheid's Diesel Extravaganza. It's the kind of attitude that starts a following. His willingness to see what his truck can do in any type of event is not only exciting to watch, but shows just how versatile a fire-breathing diesel truck can be. Look for this truck to be a competitive sled puller in the Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin areas. But if you can't seem to find Chad hooking to a sled, rest assured, you can probably find him at the nearest dragstrip.

This is what Chad's truck looked like the night before he was scheduled to be 350 miles south, pulling at Scheid's Diesel Extravaganza.

This is what Chad's truck looked like the night before he was scheduled to be 350 miles so

We're glad Chad and Buddy Van Aacken (co-owner of Empire Diesel Performance) were able to get it put together and show us what it could do on such short notice.

We're glad Chad and Buddy Van Aacken (co-owner of Empire Diesel Performance) were able to

A separation of the truck's exhaust during the sled pulling finals left their Chevy looking like a big ball of smoke coming down the track.

A separation of the truck's exhaust during the sled pulling finals left their Chevy lookin